Category: Restaurants

Today for an early lunch I tried Picanha Brazil, a buffet restaurant on the west side of 441 between Sandalfoot and Judge Winikoff.

There’s plenty of room inside, seating maybe 100 or more.

The buffet has variety, including not just Brazilian but also Greek (grape leaves, tabouleh) and other hints.

The name Picanha translates to “top sirloin”, though it might be a more general reference to meat. Fitting with that there are several meat options from beef to pork.

I loaded my plate with as much as I could.

It was an excellent meal. Great choices and flavors. My favorite was a chicken dish that almost seemed Indian. One of the salads had fresh strawberries in it.
One caution for gringos – the place seems geared to Brazilians. There are TVs playing Brazilian shows. I heard a lot of conversation that I’m guessing was in Portuguese. I speak Spanish and it wasn’t Spanish.
Not all dishes are clearly marked, but the ones that are have signs in English.
There’s a window behind the meats labeled Churrasco. You might be able to get meat hot off the grill there but I couldn’t tell and my plate was full enough. -Update- On a return visit for dinner they had about six different kinds of grilled meat that they slice for you. Choices include strip steak, rib meat (delicious), sausage and more.
It’s priced by the pound. My plate weighed 1.44 pounds. Tip was added on automatically and my total was just over $12. On a normal day I’d probably eat less and it would come in less than $10.
On return visit I see that the prices range from $6.90 to $10.90 per pound. Most things are $8.90/pound or less. The $10.90 is for Picanha Grill to go which might mean fresh grilled items.

Update: Le Macaron has closed, expected to reopen as Tulipe Cafe, a French bakery.
Le Macaron is very new in the Boca Grove plaza, between Bonefish Grill and Kyojin Buffet.

The main attraction is a diverse assortment of “Macaron”, a pastry that is vaguely like an Oreo, but the cookie part is softer and lighter, with very rich fillings.

There are about 20 varieties of Macaron, if not more.
in addition there are chocolates, croissants, and gelato.

Four of us had 6 of the Macaron, 3 chocolates and some gelato – all delicious. Next time we have to try the croissants.
I spoke briefly with the owner and his family. They moved here from Marseilles a few months ago, a big life change. We hope they do well.
One last look at the Macaron:

Closed: The Cold Stone Creamery off Glades in the same plaza as Brewzzi’s. Seems the do-it-yourself frozen yogurt business model is killing regular ice cream places.

Vinny’s All Day Cafe serves mostly salads and wraps.
The restaurant is in the Regency Court Plaza on the northwest corner of Jog Road and Yamato. Some would call this West Boca but we are snobs so it’s Central Boca.
It is noisy inside as the food is prepared out in the open and there’s a lot of chopping.

We had a group of four. All enjoyed their meals. It seemed a bit pricey for a cafeteria style lunch but the place is definitely popular with a younger customer base than we are used to in Boca. I usually feel like one of the youngest but today I was one of the oldest.
The salads, wraps and sandwiches are made to order in front of you. I had the shrimp and pear salad. It was okay but I didn’t love it.
A nice touch – they have Zapp’s potato chips, a New Orleans delicacy.

It’s a busy lunch at Tijuana Flats (link is our review from April). Taco Tuesdaze means $4.99 for two tacos, chips and a drink. It’s very popular. At one point I counted over 20 people waiting in line to order. The line moves pretty fast.

Throwback Thursdaze is $1 more and you get a taco and a burrito. Both days it’s $1 more for steak or carnitas.